Fisher and Bouillon back

It appears that all the waiting and conjecture around Francis Bouillon (concussion) and Mike Fisher (shoulder) is over. Both players announced they will be in the lineup tonight against the Sharks.

“Hopefully I can bring some speed and energy up front and hopefully create some offensive chances,” Fisher said. Said Bouillon: “Right now I want to play a simple game.”

It’s tough to say how much either will help the Predators tonight. Coach Barry Trotz said he will put Fisher at wing (and center at times) on a line with Craig Smith. He doesn’t want Fisher jumping into face-offs right away, especially with the shoulder still recovering. Trotz said Bouillon will start on the third defensive pair.

“We could use their veteran experience, because we are a little bit young, and we are a little bit fragile right now,” Trotz said. “Hopefully they’ll be stabilizing factors.”

There are a couple of ways in which Fisher and Bouillon could help. Fisher can add a better two-way presence up front and boost the offense. The Predators have fired a league-low 22.1 shots per game. They’ve also allowed a league high 33.9 shots per contest.

Bouillon could help stabilize Nashville’s defense. The third pairing of Jack Hillen and Teemu Laakso have averaged 12:36 and 11:19 of ice-time, respectively, this season. Bouillon could play 15-plus minutes per game, which would take pressure off Nashville’s top, two defensive pairs.

“I know they’re going to help us in the room stabilize the lines,” Trotz said. “We’ve had guys playing whole lines above where they should be, some of our younger, complimentary players are playing full-time roles.”

Interestingly, with Bouillon (36) and Fisher (31) in the lineup, the Predators’ average age has gone up a few notches to 26.4 from 26.0.

There was no official word on who would be out of the lineup, though forward Niclas Bergfors was the last player off the ice for Nashville this morning.

Anyway, the Predators will probably have their hands full tonight. The Sharks made some big additions this offseason with forward Martin Havlat and defensemen Brent Burns, Colin White and Jim Vandermeer. Havlat adds speed to San Jose’s attack, while Burns, White and Vandermeer should eventually shore up a defense that was leaky a year ago.

“They’re deep there, where last year they weren’t as deep,” Trotz said.